Rice Flour Crepes

I have been meaning to experiment with alternative flours for some time. Anything from rye to buckwheat to rice to mesquite. Did you know that your can actually make some rather strange types of “flour”? To make pumpkin flour, for example, all you have to do is dry/dehydrate pumpkin and then puree it into dust. Now, I couldn’t find a single recipe that told me exactly how to dry out my pumpkin, so I supposed I’ll have to hold off on that. Using flours other than wheat can dramatically change the taste and texture of your baked goods. For example, adding a tablespoon of instant mashed potato – aka potato flour – to your bread will make it a bit moister than usual.

Never one to go only halfway (well, maybe sometimes), I went out and purchased a bag of white rice flour and plunged headlong into an attempt at gluten-free baking. Not because Shauna guilted me into it. No sir.

Did you know that 1 in 133 Americans are gluten intolerant? I tried some of the recipes on the back of the bag of flour, too, and discovered that a major concern of the manufacturer is sugar content. Let me tell you that a nearly unsweetened muffin, no matter what kind of flour is used to make it, is not a muffin that I want to eat. Fortunately, I didn’t have to, since I filled up on crepes before I started baking.

Tender, tasty and a bit thicker than your typical crepe, I liked these a lot. You can see from the photo that I made them in a nonstick pan; if I had greased the pan with butter, they would have browned a bit more. They held up well to jam (my favorite on crepes), but you could easily smear them with nutella or wrap them around sausages and dip in maple syrup. And they’re gluten free, so you can share the recipe with your Celiac friends.

In a medium mixing bowl, beat together all ingredients until smooth. Pour, using a 1/4 cup measure, into a medium-sized, hot, nonstick (or greased) skillet. Turn skillet to thinly, evenly distribute batter in a circle. Cook for about 30 seconds per side.
Spread with jam, nutella or simply butter and sugar, roll up and serve immediately. You can also roll these around breakfast sausages to make pigs in a blanket.
Makes about 8 crepes
Serves 2-3, depending on hunger and fillings.

Hello! I’m visiting from http://www.janshealthykitchen.blogspot.com and I just found your blog. Your crepe recipe sounds fantastic! Also, does any one here know where to find “pumpkin flour”? The only thing I can find is a vintage ad on ebay for pumpkin flour from the 1920′s. I’m sure someone still makes it…thank you!

Hello, again Nic et al, I did find a website that said, to make pumpkin flour, take the pumpkin, use a peeler and remove the outer skin, then take the actual pumpkin (now without the outer skin) and cut it into very thin slices with the peeler, sun dry it (or use a dehydrator) and then grind the dried pumpkin in a vita mix or heavy duty blender. I have a vita mix, and I’ve used it to make rice flour (just grind the rice). Works great, but I would much rather buy pre-made pumpkin flour, as I don’t have a dehydrator.

Another idea for making crepes with “wet” things – just use dehydrated or evaporated milk to balance out the extra water (generally about 90% of whatever fresh veggie or fruit being used). Not as elegant as using the dried and powdered substance, but a heck of a lot quicker!

I’ve been eating these crepes for a few months now and they are delicious. Personally I like them very well done and flip them at least 5 times. I also normally add some honey (sorry, never measured) and besides sweetening them up, is allows them to brown. I’ve also mixed them up the night before and made them in the morning. Mix the batter before every crepe since the rice flour settles fast. I also mixed them the night before adding some Turbinado sugar. It takes some time for the sugar to disolve. Again I really liked them. Sometimes I use Maple Syrup instead of fruit. That’s real Maple syrup, not the Mrs. Butter, or the Old Aunt J. syrup, I don’t know how anyone eats all those artificial flavors and think it tastes good?

I found your recipe here because I was looking to make some gluten-free crepes for breakfast this morning. I just finished them and they were sooo tasty! I used a combination of rice and hemp milk because I am not eating dairy. I also added a teaspoon of rapadura sugar, a pinch of cinnamon and a bit of vanilla extract to sweeten them up. I forgot to add oil, but didn’t even notice because they turned out fine (I used a nonstick pan).